Automatic ornamental stitch sewing machine



TETSUZO HAYASHI ETAL AUTOMATIC ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 QM. 3 2 :3 mm m cm QQ Dec. 7, 1965 Filed Oct. 21, 1963 N Nb 5 iiga a 2% a Q @55 2 Dec. 7, 1965 TETSUZO HAYASHI ETAL 3,221,687

AUTOMATIC ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 061;. 21, 1963 o sewn? etN 3 Po ERN E. ab an Dec. 7, 1965 TETSUZO HAYASHI ETAL 3,221,687

AUTQMATIC ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 21, 1963 Dec. 7, 965 TETSUZO HAYASHI ETAL 3,221,637

AUTOMATIC ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Oct. 21, 1963 United States Patent Oflice 3,221,687 AUTOMATIC ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE Tetsuzo Hayashi, Fuse, and Minoru Tanaka, Kashihara, Japan, assignors to Koyo Seiko Company, Ltd., Osaka,

Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed Oct. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 317,602

6 Claims. (Cl. 112-158) The present invention relates to a sewing machine and more particularly to a sewing machine of the kind which, permitted zig-zag stitching by combined reciprocation and transverse oscillation of its needle bar, selectively produees a plurality of different stitch patterns automatically.

In accordance with known practice, sewing machines of such a kind will generally be classified into two: one is the disc cam type and the other is the triangle cam type, both of which are applied widely to industrial and home uses. In the former type, the needle bar is oscillated, and the amplitude of oscillation is controlled, by the same one disc cam. This type, therefore, has the advantages that it automatically stitches various fancy patterns with only one cam, thereby saving costs substantially, and that it varies the stitch amplitude freely, but it has the disadvantages that its does not vary the stitch pattern itself but only the relative location of the stitch pattern of the basic stitch line in response to a shift of the basic stitch line, and that it is not applicable to the sewing machines of the oscillation-type shuttle race as the cam follower is put into contact with the disc cam by a spring means for oscillating the needle bar. Meanwhile, in the latter type, the needle bar is oscillated by a triangle cam, while the amplitude of oscillation is determined by another disc cam in co-operation with the triangle cam. This type, therefore, has the advantages that it varies the stitch pattern itself in response to a shift of the basic stitch line, and that it is applicable to the sewing machines of the oscillation-type shuttle race as a positive motion cam system is employed for oscillating the needle bar, but it has the disadvantages that it does not stitch various fancy patterns automatically with only one cam but with two cams for controlling the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar and the basic stitch line, thereby not saving cost substantially and that it does not vary the stitch amplitude freely, unless provided with a special equipment for this purpose, as the amplitude of oscillation is given by the profile of the disc cam. Indeed, the advantage of one type is the disadvantage of the other type, and various difliculties, both economical and mechanical, arises to make a sewing machine which has the. advantages of both the types, but which is free from their disadvantages.

A major object of the invention is to provide a zig-zag ornamental stitch sewing machine which has a cam follower assembly of such a simple structure as to permit of enclosing all the important mechanism, such as cam members and their co-operative devices for oscillation of the needle bar, control of oscillatory amplitude, and regulation of cloth-feed, into a minimum possible space of the machine frame.

Another important object of the invention is to provide such an ornamental zig-zag sewing machine as performs the functions of both the above-described conventional two types, that is, the disc cam type and the triangle cam type, for stitching various patterns automatically.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a zig-zag ornamental stitch sewing machine which performs the functions of both the above-described conventional two types in such a manner as to stitch a large number of, patterns automatically with a relatively small number of cam members.

A further object of the invention is to provide a zig-zag sewing machine which has a selector assembly to be manipulated simply by push button for automatically selecting various ornamental stitch patterns in co-operation with a convenient stitch pattern indicator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a zig-zag ornamental stitch sewing machine by which buttonhole stitch patterns are obtainable as well as various other ornamental stitch patterns simply by manipulating a push button in co-operation with a stitch pattern indicator.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of the upper part of a sewing machine made according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 1, with a top cover omitted.

FIG. 3 is a partly enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the 44 line of FIG. 3, showing the stitch cam mechanism in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 fragmentarily shows the arrangement of the stitching cam and selector cam in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the device which oscillates the needle bar, shown in co-operation with the device for hand-controlling of the oscillatory amplitude in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary back-view of an enlarged longitudinal section taken along the 7--7 line of FIG. 2, showing the cams in co-operation with each other in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 shows the front views of cam members for buttonhole stitching.

FIG. 9 is a sectional side view taken along the 9-9 line of FIG. 3, showing the cloth-feed regulating device;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a stitch pattern indicator.

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic fragmentary view of the toothed ring and actuating rod assembly forming part of the mechanism for positioning the selector cams illustrating one of the actuating rods at the lower limit of its stroke.

FIGURE 12 is a side elevation view of one of the actuating rods, viewed from the right hand side of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 11 illustrating only one of the actuating rods ata position occupied at an intermediate point in its return stroke. 7

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the reference numeral 11 designates the frame of a sewing machine. In this frame, the main drive shaft 3 is supported horizontally, this shaft being movable by a pulley 12 from a conventional driving means (not shown). The drive is transmitted to the needle bar 16 by an eccentric crank 14 and a link 15 so as to impart thereto reciprocating up-and-down motion. The needle bar 16, which carries the sewing needle 18, is movably guided,

Patented Dec. 7, 1965 3 according to known practice, in a swingable needle guide which receives its oscillatory motion by a curved link 17 from the devices for producing the oscillation of the needle bar and for controlling the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar. By this oscillatory motion of the needle guide, the needle bar 16 receives in known manner transverse motion necessary for producing a zig-zag seam.

The sewing machine in accordance with the invention is provided with a combination of a number of laminated cam members for various stitch patterns and the corresponding number of laminated cam followers for selecting one or more of the cam members.

In FIG. 4, three laminations of the disc cam members 19x, 19y, 19z are mounted on a cylindrical shaft 22 which is provided transversely to the main drive shaft 13 in the frame 11. The drive is transmitted from the drive shaft 13 to the shaft 22 by means of the worm and the worm gear 21. The axis 24 of the dial 23 for hand-controlling the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar supports the cylindrical shaft 22 in such an inserted relation as to be free from the rotation of the shaft 22. The axis 24 is held by the supporting member 27.

The disc cam members 19x, 19y, 19z are positioned face to face with the corresponding cam followers 25, 25, 25 swingably mounted on the shaft 26 which is held fixedly by the supporting member 27. The numeral 19 in FIG. 5 designates one of the cam members 19x, 19y, 19z. One of the cam followers 25, 25, 25 corresponds to the cam member 19 in such a manner as to be put into, or out of, contact with the curved periphery 19 of the cam member 19. One end of the cam follower 25 forms the engaging portion 28 to follow the periphery 19 of the cam member 19, and the other end forms the actuating portion 29, while the middle of it has the slot for the shaft 26 and forms the projecting portion 31 on the side opposite the disc cam 19. The three grouped earn laminations 19x, 19y, 191 are put into co-operation with the needle bar operating plate 39, the cloth-feed regulating plate 40 and the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41 respectively by means of the actuating portions 29 of the cam followers 25, 25, 25. And each cam member in lamination is paired with a cam follower in such a manner as to impart its own motion, independently of the other cam members by way of the corresponding cam follower to the needle bar operating plate 39, the cloth-feed regulating plate 40, or the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41. All the cam followers 25 are the same in shape and size and are supported on the shaft 26 in such a manner as to be individually shiftable on the shaft 26 in the longitudinal direction of the slot 30 provided on each of them.

All the cam followers 25 are paired with the corresponding number of selector cam followers 33 in such a manner that the projecting portion 31 of each cam follower 25 is in an engageable relation with the pushing portion formed at the lower end of the corresponding cam follower 33. All the cam followers 33 are the same in shape and size, and they are supported on the shaft 34 in an individually rotatable relation. The shaft 34 is fixedly held by the supporting member 27. Each cam follower 33 is paired with the selector cam member 38 in such a manner that the engaging portion 36 formed on the opposite side of the pushing portion 35 may always follow the periphery 38' of the selector cam member 38. And all the selector cam members 38 are fixed on the shaft 37. The slot 30 is made wider than the diameter of the shaft 26 in the portion nearer to the cam 19, and is made almost as wide as the diameter of the shaft 26 in the portion nearer the selector cam 33, so as to facilitate the shifting movement of the cam follower 25 along the longitudinal direction of the slot 30.

It will, therefore, be seen that the sewing machine in accordance with the invention is provided with the same number of stitch cam members 19, cam followers 25, selector cam followers 33 and selector cam members 38,

which are held on the shafts 22, 26, 34, 37 respectively in a transverse relation to the main drive shaft 13. And the four shafts 22, 26, 34, 37 are all held by the supporting member 27. It will also be all right to let the projecting portion 31 of the cam follower 25 follow the periphery 38 of the selector cam member 38 without the intermediary of the selector cam follower 33.

With the above-described cam arrangement of the sewing machine in accordance with the invention, a desired stitch pattern is obtained as the cam member 19 and the corresponding cam follower 25 are selected to work in combination. More particularly, the selector cam member 38 is initially rotated for a desired stitch pattern by a dial known structure or a similar means (described later), and then a higher portion or the periphery 38 of the selector cam member 38 meets the engaging portion 36 of the selector cam follower 33 which is rotatable on the shaft 34, and, accordingly, the cam follower 25 is put in the position shown in true line in FIG. 5 where it is supported on the shaft 26 in the narrow portion of the slot 30, and its engaging portion 28 is put into contact with the periphery 19 of the stitching cam 19, as the projecting portion 31 of the cam follower 25 is shifted towards the cam 19 by the pushing portion 35 of the selector cam follower 33. In this case, the cam follower 25 is held between the shaft 26 and the pushing portion 35 of the selector cam follower 33 in a relation to permit of rocking motion, which is imparted to the plate 39, 40 or 41 by means of the actuating portion 29 of the cam follower 25, as the engaging portion 28 of the cam follower 25 follows the periphery 19' of the stitching cam 19.

From the above-described actuating position, the selector cam member 38 is further rotated, and then a low portion on the periphery 38 of the selector cam member 38 meets the engaging portion 36 of the selector cam follower 33, and, accordingly, the cam follower 25 is put in the position shown in dotted line in FIG. 5 where it is supported on the shaft 26 in the wide portion of the slot 30, and its engaging portion 28 is put out of contact with the periphery 19' of the stitching cam 19, as the cam follower 25 is shifted towards the selector cam member 38 in response to the releasing of the selector earn follower 33 from the projecting portion 31 of the cam follower 25 and the pushing towards the selector cam member 38 of the cam follower 25 by the plates 39, 40 or 41. Therefore, the rotation of the selector cam member 38 gives a desired stitch pattern by selectively actuating the cam follower 25 to follow the periphery 19' of the corresponding stitching cam member 19.

The three groups of cam followers 25 are connected to the needle bar operating plate 39, the cloth-feed regulating plate 40, and the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41. Accordingly, the three cam members 19x, 19y, 19z are linked by means of the actuating portions 29 of the corresponding cam followers 25 to the needle bar operating plate 39, the cloth-feed regulating plate 49, and the oscillatory amplitude regulating plate 41 respectively (these three plate members are represented by the numeral 39 in FIG. 4). The plate 39 operates the needle bar 16 in its transverse oscillation for fundamental stitch patterns. In the present invention, the plate 39 Works in co-operation with nine stitching cam members 19x of different profiles by means of nine cam followers 25. The plate 40 regulates the ratio and direction of cloth-feed. In the present invention, the plate 40 works in co-operation with three stitching cam members 19y of different profiles by means of three cam followers 25. The plate 41 controls the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar 16. In the present invention, the plate 41 works in co-operation with four stitching cam members 191 of different profiles by means of four cam followers 25. All the plates 39, 40, 41 are. mounted on the ceiling 42 of the supporting member 27 by means of the screw 43 in such a manner as to go back and forth horizontally in response to the rocking motion of cam followers 25.

A needle bar operating device is provided under the supporting member 27in the frame 11 as shown in FIG. 6 for oscillating the needle bar 16 in response to the backand-forth movement ofthe needle bar operation plate 39. The left end of the curved link 17 is connected with the needle bar guide 44, as shown in 'FIG. 1, whose top end is swingably held by the frame 1 1, while the right end of the curved link 17 is provided with the roller 45. The bell crank 49 is supported on the frame 11 by the shaft 48 in a rotatable relation for regulating the direction of the basic stitch line as described later in detail. The rocker case 46 receives the roller in its curved groove 47 in a guidable relation. The rocker case 46 is swingably mounted on the bell crank 49 by means of the screw 50 fixed almost at the end of the bell crank 49. One end of the rocker case 46 is connected with the spring 51 in ported on the frame 11 by means of the screw 52 in such a manner as to go back and forth in, an axial direction with its one end in contact with the rocker case 46. The other end, of the rocker piece 53 is in contact with the lower rocker piece 55 fixed to the foot of the vertical. shaft 54. The upper rocker piece 56 is fixed to the top of the vertical shaft 54 which is in contact with the needle 'bar operating plate 39 as shown in FIG. 2. The vertical shaft 54 is supported by the ceiling 42 of the supporting member 27 and the bottom of the frame 11 rotatably.

Therefore, in the above-described. structure, the spring 51 forces the needle bar operating plate 39 to the actuating portion 29 of the cam followers 25 by way of the rocker case 46, rocker piece 53, lower rocker piece 55, vertical shaft 54, and upper rocker piece 56. In other words, the rocking motion, which the cam follower 25 causes as it follows the periphery 19' 0f the stitching cam member 1 9x, oscillates the needle bar 16 by way of the plate 39, upper rocker piece 56, vertical shaft 54, lower rocker piece 55, rocker piece 53, rocker case 46, roller 45, and curved link 17 as the rocker case 46 makes rocking motion on the screw 50 serving as the rocking center.

In FIG. 6, the curved link "17 oscillates with a very slight amplitude in response to the rocking motion of the rocker case 46 because the roller 45 of the curved link 17 is quite near to the rocking center 50 of the rocker case 46. Therefore, the relative location of the roller 45 to the screw 50 determines the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar ranging from the straight stitch line to the maximum width of the zigzag, stitch line.

The dial 23 is provided for adjusting the location of the roller 45 in the rocker case 46 so as to control the amplitude of needle bar oscillation. The amplitude controlling cam 57 manipulated by the dial 23 is followed on its periphery by the arm 59 which is rotatably sup.- ported on the supporting member 27 by means. of the screw 58 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The lower end 60 of the arm 59is in contact with one. end 63 of the bellcrank-like member 62 which is supported rotatably on the frame '11 by means of the screw 61. The roller 45 of the curved link 17 is in contact with the other end of the bellcrank-like member 62 by means of the spring 64 which pulls the link 17 in the direction marked B in FIG. 6. In other words, the spring 64 always forces the arm 58 to the periphery of the cam 57 by means of the bell-cranklike member 62 and the link 17.

With the above-mentioned structure, a desired oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar is obtained by handling the dial 23, whose rotation will shift the roller 45, that is, the oscillatory center of the curved link 17, along the curved groove 47 of the rocker case 46 in response to the profile of the cam 57 by way of the arm 59 rotating on the screw 58 and the bell-crank-like member 62 rotating onthe screw'61. As the roller 45 shifts itself in the rocker case 46, the curved link 17- changes its amplitude of oscillation, thereby changing that of the needle bar 16.

In the. sewing machine in accordance with the present invention, the basic stitch line is shifted by rotating the lever 65 as shown in FIG. 6. One end of the lever 65 is provided with the handle 66 projecting outside the frame 11, and the other end of it is supported rotatablyon the frame 11 by means of the screw 67, near which the lever 65 is provided with the slot 68 to receive the pin 69 provided at the end of the bell crank 49 The rotation. of the handle 66 will rotate the bell crank 49. on the shaft 48, and then the rocker case 46 will be shifted with its rocking center 50, and accordingly the basic stitch line is shifted by means of the curved link 17.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the cloth-feed regulating plate 40, which is operated by the cam followers 25 in response to the profile of the stitching cam 19y, is connected to the cloth-feed regulating'device of known structure by way of the link 70 fixed on the plate 40, the lever 72 mounted on the supporting member 71, another lever 73, and the link 74 in such a manner that the device 75 may take different postures in response to the motion of the cloth-feed regulating plate 40. Therefore, the plate 40, will regulate the ratio and direction of clothfeeding to give various stitch patterns in co-operation with the needle bar operating plate 39.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41 is provided with the contact piece 118 at its left end in a shiftably mounted relation. The piece 118 is in contact with the upper offset 119 of the arm 59, so that the link 17 may be shifted relatively to the rocker case 46 by means of the roller 45 by the motion of the plate 41 which the cam followers 25 cause in response to the profiles of the stitching cam members 19z as already described in detail in reference to the hand operation with the dial 23.

With the stitching cam members 19z connected to the arm 59 by means of the plate 41, the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar is controlled in a fully automatic manner, as the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41 is operatable simultaneously with the needle bar operating plate 39.

Therefore, the sewing machine in accordance with the present invention is provided with even better advantages than both the conventional types, that is, the disc cam type and the triable cam type. In case only the needle bar operating plate 39 is in operation in response to the stitching cam 19x with the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41 not in operation in response to the stitching cam 19z, the needle bar does z ig-zag stitching in response to the rocking motion of the rocker case 46 with the possibility that the stitch pattern itself is not varied, but the relative location of the stitch pattern to the basic stitch line is varied in response to a shift of the basic stitch line .caused by rotation of the lever 65 with the handle 66. In

other words, in this case, the sewing machine in accordance with the invention will work just like the conventional disc cam type. And the sewing machine in accordance with the invention will stitch fancier and finer patterns than the two conventional types, because it stitches with the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar varied as the result of simultaneous co-operation with the needle bar operating cam 19x and the oscillatory amplitude controlling cam 19z. In addition, the sewing machine in accordance with the invention can reverse the stitch patterns by the rotation of the lever 65 just as the conventional triangle type does. The stitch pattern reversing process will be understood without description by any specialist, because it is quite the same as the conventional one.

FIG. 10 shows the face of a stitch pattern indicator 84 illustrating some of the stitch patterns made available by single or combined operation of the plates 39, 40, 41 in response to the stitching cams 19x, 19y, 19z in accordance with the present invention. The seventeen patterns 201 to 205 and 224 to 235 are stitched by the single operation of the plate 39 in response to the profile of the cam 19x. The twelve patterns 206 to 217 are stitched by the combined operation of the plates 39 and 41 in response to the profiles of the cams 19x and 192. The six patterns 218 to 223 are stitched by the combined operation of the plates 39 and in response to the profiles of the cams 19x and 19y.

A device for selecting one or more of the stitching cam members 19x, 19y, 192: in accordance with the invention will be shown in detail in FIGS. 3, 7 and 1l-13. The cam arrangement shown in FIG. 7 is held by the supporting member 27 in the frame 11. The disc 76 fixed to the shaft 37 forms the toothed ring 77 on the back side. A pair of actuating rods 78, 78 are mounted in the front portion of the supporting member 27 in a vertically slidable relation by means of the screws 79, 79. The disc 76 is located between the two actuating rods 78, 78. A pair of clicks 80 are provided in the upper portion of the actuating rods 78 in such a manner that they project towards the shaft 38 so as to engage with the toothed ring 77. The top of each actuating rod 78 is provided with the push button 81 which projects outside the frame 11. The lower end of each actuating rod 78 is pushed upwards by the spring 82 held on the frame 11 by means of the anchor member 83. The selector cam members 38 rotate simultaneously with the toothed ring 77 in such a manner as to come into contact with one or more of the selector cam followers 33 selectively. The stitch pattern indicator 84 is provided on the shaft 37 in front of the disc 76 for facilitating the selection of stitch patterns in co-operation with an index marked on the transparent plate 85 shown in FIG. 2. The indicator 84 bears various stitch patterns 201 to 235 marked radially with an equal angle as it is shown in FIG. 10.

The actuating rod 78 goes down against the spring 82 when the push button 81 is actuated, and it goes up to the original level by means of the spring 82 when the push button 81 is released. In the present invention, the actuating rod 78 is provided with the vertical slot 87 for the screws 79 which guide the vertical movement of the rod 78 as well as provide an upper limit to it. As the actuating rod 78 goes down, the toothed ring 77 is rotated by one tooth, together with the disc 76, because one of its teeth is pushed down by the lower engaging end 88 of the click 80. And as the toothed ring 77 rotates further at a given angle, the upper engaging end 89 of the click 80 stops the rotation of the toothed ring 77 by engaging with the following tooth of the ring 77 When the push button 81 is released, the actuating rod 78 goes up while releasing the click 80 from the toothed ring 77 without moving the ring '77 of the disc 76. The click 80 is pivotally mounted on the rod 78 by means of the pin 90 and is retained in the normal position as shown in FIG. 3 by means of the spring 91 provided on the opposite side of the engaging ends 88, 89 of the click 80. After it rotates the toothed ring 77 with its engaging ends 88, 89 at a given angle, the click 80 is easily pivoted back to its normal position by means of the spring 91 while it is carried on the actuating rod 78 as it goes back up to the original level.

The sewing machine in accordance with the invention will give various stitch patterns selectively only by pushing either of the buttons 81, 81. A push on the button 81 will rotate the disc 76 by one tooth of the ring 77 to rotate the stitch pattern indicator 85 by a given radial angle of one stitch pattern, and simultaneously the selector cam 38 by the corresponding radial angle, so that one or more of the cam members 38 are selected to meet the corresponding selector cam follower or followers 33 in the high portion or portions of the periphery 38, while the other selector cam members 38 remain to meet the corresponding selector cam followers 33 in the low portions of the periphery 38. Accordingly, one or more of the cam followers 25 are selectively pushed into contact with the corresponding stitching cam member(s) 8 19x, 19y, 19z, while the other stitching cam members 19 remain free from their corresponding cam followers 25. Thus, the selected stitching cam member(s) 19 will give a desired stitch pattern in response to their profiles.

The sewing machine in accordance with the invention makes it possible to carry out buttonhole stitching as easily as other ornamental stitchings. The stitch-ing cam members a, b, 0 shown in FIG. 8, which have such profiles as correspond to the four processes of buttonhole stitching, are added to the cam members 19x mounted on the shaft 24 for co-operation with the needle bar operating plate 39. The cam members a, b, c are related with the three selector cam members 38, 38, 38 by means of the corresponding cam followers 25, 25, 25 and the selector cam followers 33, 33, 33. The three selector cam members are so provided as to be operated in response to the four patterns 202 to 205 for buttonhole stitching in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cam 92 is additionally provided on the selector cam shaft 37 for regulating the cloth-feed ratio and direction of buttonhole stitching. The cam 92 has a profile the periphery of which is composed of the four portions 93 for non-cloth feeding, 94 for close forward cloth-feeding, 95 again for non-cloth feeding, and 96 for close backward cloth-feeding, which correspond to the four processes of buttonhole stitching. The cam follower 98 is mounted rotatably on the shaft 97 fixed to the supporting member 27. One end of the cam follower 98 forms the engaging portion 99 to follow the periphery of the cam 92, and the other end 100 is connected with the link 101 rotatably by means of the screw 102. The link 101 is connected to the lever 72 by means of the screw link 103 as shown in FIG. 2. The lever 72 is connected to the cloth-feed regulating device 75 of known structure by means of the lever 73 and the link 74 in accordance with known practice.

The regulation of cloth-feed ratio and direction in the sewing machine of the present invention may require no detailed explanation, because it is quite the same as known practice. Only a brief reference will be made in the present paragraph to cloth-feed regulation. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the crank 107 and the eccentric cam 108 are provided on the main drive shaft 13 in the frame 11. The crank 107 is connected with the rod 109. The eccentric cam 108 is connected with the branched link 110 provided with the roller 111, which is received in the groove 105 of the cloth-feed regulating case member 75. The cloth-feed ratio is varied according as the inclination angle of the case member 75, Le, that of the groove 105 is varied, as the hand-rotation of the dial makes the horizontal member 114 move in an axial direction in contact with the pin 113 provided in the case member 75. The cloth-feed direction is reversed when the inclination angle of the case member 75, i.e., that of the groove 105 is reversed by the push 115 provided in the dial 112. Both the dial 112 and the push 115 are manipulated for hand-operation only. The cloth-feed regulating case member 75 is mounted on the supporting member 116 rotatably by means of the screw shaft 117.

In the buttonhole stitching operation of the sewing machine in accordance with the invention, the dial 112 is initially rotated for the maximum forward cloth-feeding so that the automatic cloth-feeding may be carried out for buttonhole stitching without the possibility of interference made by hand-operated parts. Then, the push button 81 is actuated for the index to be aligned with the buttonhole-end stitch pattern 202 marked on the indicator 84. As a result, the stitching cam member a shown in FIG. 8 is put into contact with the corresponding cam follower 25 by means of the corresponding selector cam member 38 and the cam follower 33, while the disc cam 92 on the shaft 37 meets the engaging portion 99 of the cam follower 98 at the non-cloth-feeding portion 93 on its periphery to rotate the cam followers 98 on the shaft 97 in such a manner that the cloth-feed regulating case member 75 is positioned at the inclination angle for non-cloth feeding by means of the link 101, levers 72, 73, and link 74; Accordingly, the needle bar 16 carries out transverse oscillation for buttonhole-end stitching on the stopped cloth sheet in response to the profile of the cam member a by means of the corresponding cam follower 25 and the needle bar operating plate 39. Thus one of the buttonhole ends has been stitched.

Now, the push button 81 is actuated again for the index to be aligned with the buttonhole-side stitch pattern 203. As a result, the cam member a is released from the corresponding cam follower 25 by means of the corresponding selector cam member 38 and cam follower 33, while the disc cam 92 releases the engaging portion 99 of the cam follower 98 from the portion 93 on its periphery. Instead, the stitching cam member b shown in FIG. 8 is put into contact with the corresponding cam follower 25 by means of the corresponding selector cam member 38 and cam follower 33, while the disc cam 92 meets the engaging portion 99 of the cam follower 98 in the close forward cloth-feeding portion 94 on its periphery to rotate the cam follower 98 on the shaft 97 in such a manner that the case member 75 is positioned at an inclination angle for close forward cloth-feeding. Accordingly, the needle bar 16 carries out transverse oscillation for stitching closely only one side of the buttonhole on the advancing cloth sheet in response to the profile of the cam member b by means of the corresponding cam follower 25 and the needle bar operating plate 39. Thus, one of the buttonhole sides has been stitched.

Similarly, the other patterns 204, 205 will be stitched only by actuating the push button for the index to be aligned with the stitch pattern marks to operate the needle bar 16 in response to the profiles of the cam members a, c by means of the selector members 38, selector cam followers 33, cam followers 25, and plate 39, while the disc cam 92 makes the case member 75 positioned correspondingly to the stitch patterns 204, 205 by means of the periphery portions 95, 96, lever 98, link 101, levers 72, 73, and link 74. Because the cam c has a smaller average diameter than the cam b, and the basic stitch line is shifted from one side to the other side of the buttonhole as the rocking motion of the rocker case 46 is shifted in response to the operation of the cam members b, a, while the oscillatory amplitude of the needle bar is kept constant during the operations carried out by the cam members b, 0. Thus, the whole buttonhole is stitched satisfactorily only by the simple manipulation of the push button 81 just like the other ornamental stitch patterns. In this case, the amplitude of buttonhole zigzag stitch patterns can be freely altered by means of the dial 23 provided for controlling the amplitude of needle bar oscillation.

In the sewing machine in accordance with the invention, the needle bar operating plate 39, the cloth-fed regulating plate 40, and the oscillatory amplitude controlling plate 41 are all operated in cooperation. with spring means. The spring 51 pulling one end of the rocker case 46 connects the plate 39 functionally to the actuating portions 29. of the cam followers 25 corresponding to the cam 19x by way of the rocker piece 53, lower rocker piece 55, vertical shaft 54, and upper rocker piece 56. The spring 106 pulling one end of the cloth-feed regulating case member 75 connects the plate 40 functionally to the actuating portions 29 of the cam followers 25 corresponding to the cam 19y by way of the link 74, levers 73, 72, and link 70. The spring 64 pulling one end of the curved link 17 connects the plate 41 functionally to the actuating portions 29 of the cam followers 25 corresponding to the cam 192. All these cam followers 25 retire their engaging portions 28 from the peripheries 19' of the threegrouped cam members 19x, 19y, 1-9z with the forces of the springs 51, 106, 64, when they are not pushed by the selector cam followers33 from the selector cam members 38. And the cam followers 25 actuate the plates 39, 40, 41 against the forces of the. respective springs 51, 106, 64, when they are pushed by the selector cam followers 33 from the selector cam members 38 to bring their respective engaging portions 28 into contact with the corresponding peripheries 19', 19, 19 of the cam members 1 9x, 19y, 192. In the meantime, the spring 106 pulling one end of the cloth-feed regulating case member 75 makes the engaging portion 99 of the cam follower 98 meet the periphery portions 93, 94, 95, 96 of the disc cam 92 by means of the link 74, levers 73, 72, screw link 103, and link 101.

It will, therefore, be seen that all the objects mentioned in the earlier part of the present specification are achieved, together with minor objects not particularly mentioned, by the zig-zag stitching sewing machine in accordance with the invention.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in the light of the above principles. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practised otherwise than described above.

We claim:

1. In an ornamental stitch sewing machine for selectively producing a plurality of stitch patterns, a hollow frame, a needle mounted on said frame for endwise reciprocation and for lateral swinging movements transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a cam shaft supported within said frame, a stack of rotary stitching cams mounted in side-by-side coaxial relation on said cam shaft including groups of plural cams each for producing transverse oscillation of the needle and regulating amplitude of needle oscillations, means for driving said cam shaft to rotate said cams simultaneously about the axis thereof, a plurality of cam followers corresponding in number to said cams, pivot means defining pivot axes for said cam followers, means mounting said cam followers individually on said pivot means for independent movement of each cam follower about pivot axes in parallel planes perpendicular to the axis of said cam shaft alongside said cams in. radial alinement with their respective cams without effecting movement of any of the other of said cam followers, said cam followers each having an engagement portion for engaging and following the periphery of its associated camand an activating end portion spaced from their pivot axes, means producing transverse oscillation of the needle including an oscillation-producing plate, means for regulating the amplitude of oscillation of the needle including an oscillatory amplitude plate, each of said plates being slidably mounted on said frame for rectilinear reciprocative movement along axes paralleling said cam follower planes of movement, each of said plates being disposed. to be directly driven by the activating end portions of the cam follower associated with a respective one of said groups of cams, and means for selectively positioning selected ones of said followers to dispose their activating end portions in driving engagement with said plates to activate said plates responsive to the cams followed by said cam followers.

2. In an ornamental stitch sewing machine for selectively producing a plurality of stitch patterns, a hollow frame, a needle mounted on said frame for endwise reciprocation and for lateral swinging movements transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a cam shaft supported within said frame, a stack of rotary stitching cams mounted in side-by-side coaxial relation on said cam shaft including groups of plural cams each for producing transverse oscillation of the needle, regulating amplitude of needle oscillations, and regulating direction and extent of cloth feed, means for driving said cam shaft to rotate said cams simultaneously about the axis thereof, a plurality of cam followers corresponding in number to said cams, pivot shaft means defining a common stationary pivot axis for said cam followers, means mounting said cam followers individually on said pivot shaft means for independent movement of each cam follower about said common stationary pivot axis in parallel planes perpendicular to said pivot axis alongside said cams in radial alinement with their respective cams without effecting movement of any of the other of said cam followers, said cam followers each having an engagement portion for engaging and following the periphery of its associated cam and an activating end portion spaced from said pivot axis, means producing transverse oscillation of the needle including an oscillation-producing plate, means for regulating the amplitude of oscillation of the needle including an oscillatory amplitude plate, means for regulating the direction and extent of feed of cloth through the machine including a cloth-feed regulating plate, each of said plates being slidably mounted on said frame for rectilinear reciprocative movement along axes paralleling said cam follower planes of movement, said oscillation-producing plate, said amplitude plate and said cloth-feed regulating plate being disposed to be directly driven by the activating end portions of the cam follower associated with the oscillation-producing cams, the amplitude regulating cams and the cloth feed regulating cams respectively, and means for selectively positioning selected ones of said followers to dispose their activating end portions in driving engagement with said plates to activate said plates responsive to the cams followed by said cam followers.

3. In an ornamental stitch sewing machine for selectively producing a plurality of stitch patterns, a hollow frame, a needle mounted on said frame for endwise reciprocation and for lateral swinging movements transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a cam shaft supported within said frame, a stack of rotary stitching cams mounted in side-by-side coaxial relation on said cam shaft including groups of plural cams each for producing transverse oscillation of the needle, regulating amplitude of needle oscillations, and regulating direction and extent of cloth feed, means for driving said cam shaft to rotate said cams simultaneously about the axis thereof, a plurality of cam followers corresponding in number to said cams supported for movement about a common stationary pivot axis in parallel planes perpendicular to said pivot axis alongside said cams in radial alinement with their respective cams, said cam followers each having an engament portion for engaging and following the periphery of its associated cam and an activating end portion spaced from said pivot axis, means producing transverse oscillation of the needle including an oscillation-producing plate, means for regulating the amplitude of oscillation of the needle including an oscillatory ampiltude plate, means for regulating the direction and ex tent of feed of cloth through the machine including a cloth-feed regulating plate, each of said plates being slidably mounted on said frame for rectilinear reciprocative movement along axes paralleling said cam follower planes of movement, said oscillation-producing plate, said amplitude plate and said cloth-feed regulating plate being disposed to be directly driven by the activating end portions of the cam follower associated with the oscillationproducing cams, the amplitude regulating cams and the cloth feed regulating cams respectively, and means for selectively positioning selected ones of said followers to dispose their activating end portions in driving engagement with said plates to activate said plates responsive to the cams followed by said cam followers, said means for positioning said cam followers including a plurality of angularly adjustable selector cams corresponding in number to said stitching cams arranged in spaced co-planar relation with their respective stitching cams and said cam followers with said cam followers located therebetween, a pivot shaft defining the pivot axis for said cam followers, said cam followers each having a slot therein elongated in the direction of their respective stitching cams and selector cams for receiving said pivot shaft and accommodating movement of the cam follower relative thereto between a cam tracking position and a spaced position relative to said stitching cams, and means for adjusting said cam followers to said tracking and spaced positions responsive to the peripheral contours of their respective selector cams.

4. In an ornamental stitch sewing machine for selectively producing a plurality of stitch patterns, a hollow frame, a needle mounted on said frame for endwise reciprocation and for lateral swinging movements transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a cam shaft supported within said frame, a stack of rotary stitching cams mounted in side-by-side coaxial relation on said cam shaft including groups of plural cams each for producing transverse oscillation of the needle, regulating amplitude of needle oscillations, and regulating direction and extent of cloth feed, means for driving said cam shaft to rotate said cams simultaneously about the axis thereof, a plurality of cam followers corresponding in number to said cams supported for movement about a common stationary pivot axis in parallel planes perpendicular to said pivot axis alongside said cams in radial alinement with their respective cams, said cam followers each having an engagement portion for engaging and following the periphery of its associated cam and an activating end portion spaced from said pivot axis, means producing transverse oscillation of the needle including an oscillationproducing late, means for regulating the amplitude of oscillation of the needle including an oscillatory amplitude plate, means for regulating the direction and extent of feed of cloth through the machine including a clothfeed regulating plate, each of said plates being slidably mounted on said frame for rectilinear reciprocative movement along axes paralleling said cam follower planes of movement, said oscillation-producing plate, said amplitude plate and said cloth-feed regulating plate being disposed to be directly driven by the activating end portions of the cam follower associated with the oscillation-producing earns, the amplitude regulating cams and the cloth feed regulating cams respectively, and means for selectively positioning selected ones of said followers to dispose their activating end portions in driving engagement with said plates to activate said plates responsive to the cams followed by said cam followers, a dial shaft, an indicator dial on said dial shaft having markings designating various stitch patterns obtainable by the operation of said stitching cams, a toothed ring on said shaft rotatable in selected correspondence with the indicator dial, a pushbutton actuating rod reciprocaive substantially tangentially of said ring having a bifurcated pawl member providing first and second projections for interfitting with the teeth of said toothed ring to rotate the ring through a selected are during manual depression of said operating rod through a selected stroke and prevent rotation of said ring beyond said arc during said stroke, resilient means for returning said operating rod to raised position, and said means for positioning said cam followers including a plurality of selector cams corresponding in number to said cam followers for angularly adjusting said cam followers responsive to movement of said toothed ring.

5. In an ornamental stitch sewing machine for selectively producing a plurality of stitch patterns, a hollow frame, a needle mounted on said frame for endwise reciprocation and for lateral swinging movements transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a cam shaft supported within said frame, a stack of rotary stitching cams mounted in side-by-side coaxial relation on said cam shaft including groups of plural cams each for producing transverse oscillation of the needle, regulating amplitude of needle oscillations, and regulating direction and extent of cloth feed, means for driving said cam shaft to rotate said cams simultaneously about the axis thereof, a plurality of cam followers corresponding in number to said cams supported for movement about a common stationary pivot axis in parallel planes perpendicular to said pivot axis alongside said cams in radial alinement with their respective cams, said cam followers each having an engagement portion for engaging and following the periphery of its associated cam and an activating end portion spaced from said pivot axis, means producng transverse oscillation of the needle including an oscillation-producing plate, means for regulating the amplitude of oscillation of the needle including an oscillatory amplitude plate, means for regulating the direction and extent of feed of cloth through the machine including a cloth-feed regulating plate, each of said plates being slidably mounted on said frame for rectilinear reciprocative movement along axes paralleling said cam follower planes of movement, said oscillation-producing plate, said amplitude plate and said cloth-feed regulating plate being disposedto be directly driven by the activating end portions of the cam follower associated with the oscillation-producing earns, the amplitude regulating cams and the cloth feed regulating cams respectively, and means for selectively positioning selected ones of said followers to dispose their activating end portions in driving engagement with said plates to activate said plates responsive to the cams followed by said cam followers, said group of stitching cams for producing transverse oscillation of the needle including three buttonholing cams for controlling the width of transverse oscillation and center-line of oscillation of the needle for the ends and right and left hand edges of a buttonhole, said means for positioning said cam followers including a selector cam having a suitably curved periphery for positioning the cam followers to engage and track said buttonholing cams automatically in selected succession to sew along one end, one side, the other end and the other side of a buttonhole, and a cam member driven in coordinated relation to said selector cam for automatically regulating the direction and extent of cloth feed during the complete buttonhole sewing procedure.

6. An ornamental stitch sewing machine as defined in claim 2 wherein said cam followers each have a slot therein which is elongated in a radial direction relative to the axis of said stitching cams for receiving said pivot shaft means and accommodating limited translatory movement of the cam follower relative to said pivot shaft means between a cam tracking position and a position spaced from the periphery of the associated stitching cam, and means for selective adjusting said cam followers to said tracking and spaced positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,041,988 7/1962 Fujita 112- 158 3,091,200 5/1963 Fukunaga 112-158 3,130,697 4/1964 Meier 1l2158 3,143,985 8/1964 Reeber et a1. 112-l58 ROBERT V. SLOAN, Primary Examiner. JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner. 

1. IN AN ORNAMENTAL STITCH SEWING MACHINE FOR SELECTIVELY PRODUCING A PLURALITY OF STITCH PATTERNS, A HOLLOW FRAME, A NEEDLE MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR ENDWISE RECIPROCATION AND FOR LATERAL SWINGING MOVEMENTS TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF RECIPROCATION, A CAM SHAFT SUPPORTED WITHIN SAID FRAME, A STACK OF ROTARY STITCHING MEANS MOUNTED IN SIDE-BY-SIDE COAXIAL RELATION ON SAID CAM SHAFT INCLUDING GROUPS OF PLURAL CAMS EACH FOR PRODUCING TRANSVERSE OSCILLATION OF THE NEEDLE AND REGULATING AMPLITUDE OF NEEDLE OSCILLATIONS, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CAM SHAFT TO ROTATE SAID CAMS SIMULTANEOUSLY ABOUT THE AXIS THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF CAM FOLLOWERS CORRESPONDING IN NUMBER FO SAID CAMS, PIVOT MEANS DEFINING PIVOT AXES FOR SAID CAM FOLLOWERS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID CAM FOLLOWERS INDIVIDUALLY ON SAID PIVOT MEANS FOR INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT OF EACH CAM FOLLOWER ABOUT PIVOT AXES IN PARALLEL PLANES PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF SAID CAM SHAFT ALONGSIDE AND CAMS IN RADIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE CAMS WITHOUT EFFECTING MOVEMENT OF ANY OF THE OTHER OF SAID CAM FOLLOWERS, SAID CAM FOLLOWERS EACH HAVING AN ENGAGEMENT PORTION FOR ENGAGING AND FOLLOWING THE PERIPHERY 